Sacramento Kings: Where Marvin Bagley stands in Rookie of the Year race

The competition: Trae Young

The last player with a real shot at the award over Bagley is the Atlanta Hawks’ floor-stretching point guard.

Trae Young had much more to prove than the other rookies entering his first season. The Hawks drafted Doncic third overall and subsequently traded him to the Mavericks for Young (drafted fifth) and a 2019 protected first-rounder. This put immediate pressure on Young to be as good as the former EuroLeague MVP.

Young didn’t come out of the gates as strong as Ayton or Doncic, but his recent efforts have put his name into contention for this award. Over the course of five games from Feb. 22-March 2, Young recorded historic numbers for a rookie, as he posted averages of 34.8 points and 10.4 assists per game. On the entire season however, Young’s numbers have been more down-to-earth at 18.4 points (second among rookies) and 7.7 assists (first among rookies) per outing.

Young’s advanced stats don’t stand up as nicely to his rookie peers’ however. His true shooting percentage of 53.2 percent ranks 39th among all first-year players. His PIE of 11.5 ranks higher though, at fourth among all rookies to play 30 or more games. He is also sporting an unattractive BPM of -1.7 and VORP of 0.2.

His numbers are the weakest of Bagley’s top-tier competition, but his flashiness and offensive prowess alone put him in the race.